When Alaric opened his eyes, instead of his bedroom’s white ceiling, he found himself staring at a high coffered ceiling with painted beams and panels.
Huh? Where am I?
Alaric thought in disbelief. His brain panicked as he stood up, before an intense wave of dizziness hit him.
It was a mix of alcoholic hangover and a rush of foreign memories.
He reflexively grabbed onto the edge of the smooth reddish brown bedside table with the force of a swaying body, toppling over the glass of brown liquid on it, the smell of which burned his nose.
Guided by the inherited memories almost unconsciously, he walked toward the tall cheval mirror near the dressing screen, as if to verify the truth.
His eyes widened as he slowly took in the body that now belonged to him.
It was exactly how Tales of Golden Era, the novel he had been reading just the previous night, described the final villain of volume one.
The young man reflected in the cheval mirror stood a little over six feet tall with a lean, athletic frame, dressed in a tailored white shirt with its collar loosened and sleeves rolled to the forearms, paired with fitted black trousers.
Above all was a handsome face framed by slightly ruffled black hair, and striking crimson eyes which lent him a naturally cold and aristocratic air.
"Alaric Orlen?"
He whispered. His voice felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, a result of memories of the original owner of this body.
The young lord of House Orlen.
That was his new identity now.
The first time Alaric had read about this character who carried the same first name as him, he had been quite happy.
Who would have known this character would turn out to be the first major villain of the novel? A character destined to die at the hands of the protagonist?
And that destiny had been set rolling exactly a few moments from now.
The young lord had accidentally drunk a lot more than intended the previous night, resulting in a heavy hangover the next morning, which was now.
In his less than optimal state, he had been provoked into a duel by the protagonist, one of the Squires, and got defeated.
This was how the enmity between the young lord of House Orlen and the protagonist had begun.
And why had the protagonist provoked the young lord into a duel?
Because he had just awakened a system, and his first quest was to defeat the young lord.
[Awakening System]
What?
Before Alaric could even fully express his confusion at the words which manifested in his mind, another influx of memories arrived.
If the first set of memories belonged to the original owner of this body, then this second set contained the basic knowledge of how to use the System.
A few seconds later Alaric opened his eyes with a helpless expression on his face.
The System of Tales of Golden Era, which the protagonist was supposed to awaken, had awakened in him instead.
Moreover, it had been personalized for him, therefore its abilities differed greatly from the one he remembered from the novel.
Rather than assigning quests to him directly, the System registered other individuals as quest recipients. They would complete the quests, while he received the rewards based on the connected individual’s potential.
But the System’s selection algorithm had glitched.
Alaric let out a long sigh.
Under normal circumstances, he would’ve chosen who to connect with based on his own judgment.
The System would’ve trusted his decision, even if he overestimated someone’s potential.
A mediocre recruit would naturally produce mediocre rewards.
The glitch had removed that freedom entirely.
The System now made the decision for him, and unlike him, it would never misjudge talent.
Anyone it accepted was guaranteed to be a true Genius, which also meant the rewards they generated would be on an entirely different level.
It was an incredible advantage paired with an equally incredible inconvenience.
Instead of choosing from countless promising candidates, he now had to find the handful of individuals capable of passing the System’s impossibly high standards.
Finding a Genius was far easier said than done.
Alaric couldn’t help smiling wryly.
The potential rewards were enough to make anyone envious, but so was the difficulty. If he wanted to grow stronger, he’d first have to find Geniuses, then manipulate them into completing the System’s quests.
After a bit of deliberation, he changed into a new set of clothes and left his bedchamber.
The pair of attendants standing outside bowed as soon as the door opened.
He acknowledged them with a slight nod before instructing one of them to bring a hangover remedy.
Once the attendant left, he ordered the other to bring the protagonist to his personal training room while maintaining absolute secrecy.
Fortunately, he already knew where to find his first genius.
That’s right, it was the protagonist. As someone who had read volume 1, he knew just how godly the protagonist’s comprehension was when it came to swords.
There was a high chance he would meet the system’s requirements of a genius.
He descended the staircase, sweeping his gaze across the portraits of previous family heads.
As he walked through the mansion, the servants bowed to him while the guards saluted.
After drinking the remedy, he entered his personal training hall and sat in a chair.
He didn’t have to wait for long as a young man entered and closed the door behind him.
The protagonist of the novel. Evan Lionheart.
Unlike Alaric’s clean shaven look, he had a trimmed beard of the same brown color as his short neatly styled hair and an ordinary face with clear black eyes.
Wearing a gray linen shirt and trousers, along with a leather belt and knee high leather boots, his attire was a far cry from Alaric’s, signifying a difference in status.
As soon as Alaric set his sights on him, his system activated.
[Detected a Genius]
[Connecting to the Genius]
[Issuing a Quest]
[Quest: Defeat the young lord of House Orlen in close combat.]
[Reward: Minor Mastery of Throwing Knives.]
Perfect. He really fit the System’s requirements for a Genius.
Alaric also recognised the quest.
It was the first quest which the protagonist got in the novel, also the one which led him to beat the young lord in public.
It was a good thing he had already considered this situation and asked for Evan to be brought to his personal training hall.
As Alaric hadn’t said anything, Evan let his mind wander.
Why would the young lord call for me randomly?
He didn’t wait, bowing to Alaric, and asked. "Young Lord, how may I be of service?"
Evan’s voice snapped Alaric out of his thoughts.
Perfect time to complete this quest.
He smiled, and gestured towards the equipment cabinet.
"I’ve heard about your excellent talent in close combat. Wear the padded gambeson. I want to spar and learn."
"Young Lord, I am sorry if I have made a mistake somewhere." Evan bowed once again, and stayed that way to hide his expression.
I’ve taken extra care to not make any mistakes! What could have gone wrong?!
I can’t be getting bogged down in this House Orlen! I am talented in the Body Path. My future is in the capital!
Alaric shook his head. "You’re overthinking. I truly intend to learn from you while sparring. Hurry up, I don’t have time to waste."
All I see is you wasting your time, what is up with these antics?
Evan inwardly grumbled, but still heaved a sigh of relief. At least there was no mistake from his side.
Once both of them had worn padded gambesons, they stood across from each other.
Alaric held up his leather gloves in a standard boxing stance before speaking. "You go first."
Since neither him nor the previous owner of this body had any skills in weapons, Alaric felt it was better to stick to using hands as weapons.
Evan held the wooden sword in one hand, while the other lay lightly by his side. "Young Lord, you should go first."
Why pretend to care about fairness? You know you want to strike first and also want an advantage in weapons. Isn’t that why you chose gloves which are good against swords?
You knew I’d be using one, everyone knows I only use swords.
"Then I shall ask you to not hold back." Alaric replied before dashing in.
There was only a blur before a heavy strike slid off the sword.
As the only child of Marchioness Orlen, no matter how useless Alaric was, he received uncontested benefits.
Due to the sheer number of treasures poured into him, his physical foundation far surpassed what any Squire could hope for.
Even the protagonist couldn’t surpass it in the novel, only managing to match it after going to the capital.
Evan’s gaze turned a bit serious as he felt a heavy tremor pass through his hands.
What monstrous strength! A pity it is wasted on someone like him. If he had just a bit of skill, it wouldn’t have been easy for me.
Without a pause in movement, he quickly followed up with thrust after parrying the first strike, forcing Alaric back, then bringing it down to deflect the upper cut he was preparing.
Alaric wasn’t one to give in easily. He swung his right leg, creating a distinct snap of displaced air.
With his monstrous physique, if his kick landed, even through the protection it might damage Evan’s bones. His physique hadn’t caught up to Alaric yet after all.
Evan’s eyes turned deadly serious as he used his complete focus to perform a complicated maneuver using both his sword and his left leg to dispel the dangerous kick, then swiftly swiped the sword at the exposed thigh.
Of course, because of the padded gambeson, there was no risk of injury to Alaric. But since it was a spar, it would’ve counted as a valid blow.
Before that could happen though, Alaric threw another punch, forcing Evan back.
Alaric sighed, shifting back to the only stance he knew.
No wonder he is the protagonist.
A minor mastery in swordsmanship at such a young age. Such a monumental talent would create waves anywhere he goes.
It was right to not offend him, but I also can’t let him run away to the capital like in the novel.
Minor Mastery in any field meant they were at the pinnacle of mortal limits of that skill.
Alaric switched his tactics. Instead of playing by his weakness, which was trying to create openings when he was clearly not skilled, he decided to play by his strengths. Literally.
He began bruteforcing his way through whatever Evan tried to do.
I can’t go easy on Evan. According to the novel, deliberate external interference beyond a certain point will decrease the quest rewards.
If I go easy and lose, it will count as a deliberate external help. This is another reason I resorted to a private spar. So that I can reduce external interference.
The fight went on for a minute when suddenly, Evan’s blade moved like flowing water.
It connected to his straight jab and changed its trajectory unpredictably, throwing Alaric off balance.
Before he could even regain his balance, the sword had already found its way on his neck.
"My apologies, Young Lord."
[Quest: Defeat the young lord of House Orlen in close combat.]
[Completed]
[Issuing Rewards.]
[The host has leveled up. Talent Point +1]
[Level: 1]
Immediately after, Alaric felt a surge of memories rush into his mind.
Alaric exhaled, relaxing his body, which gave the signal for Evan to retract his sword.
"Thank you for the spar. Reports about your talent were certainly not false. You may leave."
A few moments after Evan left, a thin hiss of steel cutting through air rang several times in succession before the knives embedded themselves into the wooden door, tracing the perfect outline of Evan’s physique.
Pretty deadly.
Alaric thought, giving the human outline made of knives a deep glance.
After testing out the minor mastery of throwing knives, Alaric headed towards his study, ordering one of the servants to deliver him his breakfast there itself.
He didn’t want to eat in the dining hall.
A short while later, a maid entered the study with a cart. She was startled at first, before quickly regaining composure and setting the table.
As she left, there was only one thought in her mind.
I clearly remember writing that the young lord gets challenged by the protagonist at this time.
What is he doing here in the study?